Georgia military families brace for food insecurity amid shutdown

Georgia military families are facing a harsh new reality — they might not be able to put food on the table this week.

(CNN)- With the government shutdown dragging on, some Georgia military families are facing a harsh new reality — they might not be able to put food on the table this week.

Purple Heart recipient and retired Army Sergeant Gary Herber said his friends at Dobbins Air Reserve Base began their week with a difficult list — places offering free food to service members.

“This does not seem real,” Herber said. “It made me feel sick to my stomach.”

Because of the shutdown, November paychecks for military personnel could be delayed, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture warns that food assistance benefits could also be cut. Kara Pappas with the Military Family Advisory Network, a nonprofit providing emergency grocery boxes, said the situation is worsening quickly.

Her organization ships boxes of pantry staples directly to families’ homes to preserve dignity — but the demand is far outpacing their supply. Nearly 3,000 Georgia families have applied for aid, yet only 234 boxes can be sent with current funding. In Lawrenceville, Love Outreach Mission food bank is seeing the same strain. Founder Lynette Jackson said her team served a record 900 families last Saturday before running out of food.

“It is getting worse,” Jackson said. “We’re starting to fill up our freezers, but it’ll all be gone. I need help.”

For veterans like Herber, the thought of soldiers struggling to feed their families is unacceptable.

“The last person in this country that should ever have to ask for a handout is the men and women who wear the cloth of our nation,” he said.